The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of working-class life epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. The show is set in the fictional town of Springfield and parodies American culture, society, television, and the human condition. The Simpsons received widespread critical acclaim throughout its first nine seasons, which are generally considered its "Golden Age". Time named it the 20th century's best television series, and Erik Adams of The A.V. Club named it "television's crowning achievement regardless of format". On January 14, 2000, the Simpson family was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It has won dozens of awards since it debuted as a series, including 31 Primetime Emmy Awards, 30 Annie Awards, and a Peabody Award. Homer's exclamatory catchphrase "D'oh!" has been adopted into the English language, while The Simpsons has influenced many adult-oriented animated sitcoms. Despite this, the show has also been criticized for what many perceive as a decline in quality over the years. Biography The family was conceived by Groening shortly before a solicitation for a series of animated shorts with producer James L. Brooks. Groening created a dysfunctional family and named the characters after members of his own family, substituting Bart for his own name. The shorts became a part of The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987. After a three-season run, the sketch was developed into a half-hour prime time show and became an early hit for Fox, becoming the network's first series to land in the Top 30 ratings in a season (1989–90). Since its debut on December 17, 1989, 607 episodes of The Simpsons have been broadcast. Its 28th season began on September 25, 2016. It is the longest-running American sitcom and the longest-running American animated program, and, in 2009, it surpassed Gunsmoke as the longest-running American scripted primetime television series. The Simpsons Movie, a feature-length film, was released in theaters worldwide on July 27, 2007, and grossed over $527 million. On May 4, 2015, the series was renewed for seasons 27 (2015–16) and 28 (2016–17), consisting of 22 episodes each. On November 4, 2016, the series was renewed for seasons 29 (2017–18) and 30 (2018–19), consisting of 22 episodes each. Crossovers ''The Simpsons'' in Family Guy *In the episode "8 Simple Rules for Buying My Teenage Daughter", Stewie criticizes Jeremy for downloading The Simpsons episode, "Mr. Plow", saying that it's unoriginal for doing so. *In the opening of "PTV", Stewie runs Homer Simpson over with his toy bike in the garage. His attempt to run away is analogous to running away from the car in the show's theme song. Here, he does not crash through the door, and is knocked unconscious. At this time, Peter Griffin enters, sees Homer, and asks "Who the Hell is that guy?" *In the episode "Mother Tucker", Brian mentions Stewie selling out. The resulting flashback parodies the Butterfinger commercials The Simpsons did in the early 1990s. Stewie says Bart Simpson’s catchphrase from the commercials, “Nobody better lay a finger on my Butterfinger,” before adding a forced “D’oh!”. *In the episode "Movin' Out (Brian's Song)", Marge Simpson and Glenn Quagmire are seen together in a fake promotion for The Simpsons. After enjoying their time together, Marge brings Quagmire to Springfield to have more fun. After a long night of sex with Marge, Homer walks in and catches them in the act. The Simpson family is then killed in one-by-one a chain reaction shooting by Glenn, until Maggie Simpson grabs a hold of the gun and shoots Quagmire, possibly in reference to "Who Shot Mr. Burns?". *In the episode, "The Juice Is Loose", an angry mob goes to O.J. Simpson's party and Mayor Adam West says "We don't like you, Simpson! Not like we did back in the 80's." At first, it's presumed he's referring to O.J., but then Homer appears on screen and he utters his catchphrase "D'oh!", meaning he was actually referring to Homer Simpson and his show going through seasonal rot. *In the episode "FOX-y Lady", Peter Griffin called Handi-Quacks the next Simpsons during his pitch to Peter Chernin. *In the episode, "Lois Kills Stewie", Stewie sings the musical number, "I've Got a Little List", one of the "society offenders" on Stewie's list is "The guy who watched The Simpsons back in 1994 and won't admit the damn thing isn't funny anymore". *In the episode "Big Man on Hippocampus", Peter, who had amnesia, can't remember his catchphrase, so he uses Homer's annoyed grunt, "D'oh!". *The font used for Simpsons credits is used for the ending credits of "Dial Meg for Murder". *In the episode "Something, Something, Something, Dark Side", the Darth Vader head that Luke Skywalker, played by Chris Griffin, decapitates was originally going to be Homer Simpson's, but was replaced with his own. *In the episode "Ratings Guy", Homer rushes to report having broken television only to have Peter brag that they beat them to it. This is a reference to the "The Simpsons Already Did It", meme. *In the episode "New Kidney in Town", Peter skin turns yellow, on account of flushing and he says he feels like he can go on for another twenty years. *In the episode "Cool Hand Peter", the jury of the trial of Peter, Joe, Quagmire and Cleveland consisted of Homer, Marge, Lisa, Bart, and Maggie Simpson, Krusty the Clown, Comic Book Guy, Groundskeeper Willie, Edna Krabappel, Ned Flanders, Otto Mann, Moe Szyslak, and Mr. Burns. Peter is at first relieved to find that it's a jury of their peers but Joe points out that they don't see it that way. *In the episode "Save the Clam", Peter gets drunk and recounts his greatest memories. All of which are just moments from The Simpsons, including Mr. Plow, Bart jumping the canyon, and Maggie's first word. *In the episode "Family Guy Viewer Mail #2" Stewie jokes that Family Guy is based on an american sit-com, titled "The Simpsons". *In the episode "Boopa-Dee Bappa-Dee", Peter tries changing the channel on the Italian TV, but he actually changes Stewie into characters from other shows. One of which is Bart Simpson. *In the episode "The Simpsons Guy", Family Guy and The Simpsons have a full-fledged crossover episode. *In the episode "Guy, Robot", Peter drunkenly admits that the show actually steals a lot from The Simpsons. *In the episode "The Boys in the Band", Chris makes a few references to shows and movies. One of which is Bart's catchphrase, "Cowabunga". *In the episode "Cop and a Half-Wit", during a montage of crime-fighting, The Simpsons family is exposed on their couch with puzzled looks when Peter unzips the scene. *In the episode "Inside Family Guy", a photo of Brian is shown waving to a tour bus of fans, but behind him is the Simpsons' studio and the intended attention of the fans. *In the episode, "Emmy-Winning Episode", Lois makes note of Family Guy's failed attempt to ride The Simpsons for a shot at an Emmy. The show also appears on the library computer as one that consistently wins Emmys. At the end of the episode, Family Guy's only fan writes them a nice letter, but this fan is actually someone, who mistook them for The Simpsons, as he details how he loves the episode, "Homer the Heretic". *In the episode "Foxx in the Men House", George Clooney introduces himself as the second worst Batman and Peter introduces himself as the second best Homer. *In the episode, "Family Guy Viewer Mail #3", the title and intro to the segment "Schoolhouse of Horror" is a parody on The Simpsons' annual Halloween franchise, "Treehouse of Horror". *In the episode "Petey IV", Vladimir Putin notes that things in Russia are slightly sub-par to things in America, Peter inquires about The Simpsons, only to find out that they only have Family Guy. *In the episode, "Family Guy Through the Years", in celebrating sixty tears on the air, Peter diminishes the role The Simpsons have had on Sunday night television. It is also claimed that Family Guy began as a sketch on a larger show, a nod to The Simpsons beginnings on The Tracey Ullman Show. *In the episode "Married ... With Cancer", Jess has a bucket list of all the places he wants to have sex. One of which is Moe's Tavern. *In the episode "Pawtucket Pete", Mr. Burns and Mr. Smithers observe Peter assigned to collecting recyclables. *In the episode "Regarding Carter", Lois tells Carter that one of the things his company did was cause a nuclear disaster, bigger than Chernobyl. Carter responds to this by saying, "D'oh!" This makes a connection with Homer Simpsons working at a Nuclear Powerplant. ''Family Guy'' in The Simpsons *In the episode "Missionary: Impossible", Betty White entreats viewers to help keep "this crude, low-brow programming" on the air, while the television next to her has the Family Guy logo. *In the episode "Replaceable You", Mr. Burns says "What the deuce?", quoting the catchphrase of Stewie Griffin. *In the episode "Treehouse of Horror 13", Homer creates clones of himself that mostly look and act exactly like him (except for being dumber). When the clones create an army of themselves, variations begin to appear, and one of the "variant" clones is Peter Griffin, reflecting the common criticism that Peter is too similar to Homer Simpson - in other words, a clone of him. *In the ending credits for "Treehouse of Horror 16", Al Jean is credited as Al "Family Guy" Jean. *In the episode, "The Italian Bob", swipes are taken at both Family Guy and Seth MacFarlane other show, American Dad!. In trying to identify Sideshow Bob, the Italian police look through a book of criminals, in which there are pictures of Peter Griffin (accused of Plagiarismo, Plagiarism implying that Family Guy is a ripoff of The Simpsons) and Stan Smith (accused of Plagiarismo de plagiarismo, Plagiarism of Plagiarism implying that American Dad! is a ripoff of Family Guy, which, in turn, is a ripoff of The Simpsons). *In the credits for "Homerland", families from other Fox shows can be seen, including Family Guy, American Dad!, The Cleveland Show, Golan the Insatiable, and Bob's Burgers. *In the episode "The Simpsons Guy", The Simpsons and Family Guy have a full-fledged crossover. *In the episode "Treehouse of Horror 27", a 10x80 grid of all 800 currently existing episodes of The Simpsons is projected on screen, including the scene of Homer and Peter fighting in "The Simpsons Guy". *In the episode "Krusty the Circus Clown", Family Guy was one of the many currently running shows, that was so popular that everybody's heard of, but doesn't actually exist. Everybody thinks it's real, because of how widespread it's name is. However, they never bother to watch it, and just assume everyone else around them watches it. *In the episode "Bart vs. Itchy & Scratchy", Lisa had a wall of "Cartoon Women's History", featuring famous cartoon women and the years they came from. This included Donna Tubbs-Brown, from The Cleveland Show, but in the show slot, where she was listed, her role in Family Guy was also given a shoutout. The list of cartoon women went as follows. **Minnie Mouse from Mickey Mouse - 1928 **Betty Boop from Betty Boop - 1930 **Olive Oyl from Popeye the Sailor Man - 1960 **Wilma Flintstone from The Flintstones - 1961 **Betty & Veronica from Archie - 1968 **Lisa Simpson from The Simpsons - 1989 **Daria Morgendorffer from Daria/''Beavis & Butthead'' - 1997 **The Powerpuff Girls from The Powerpuff Girls - 1998 **Turanga Leela from Futurama - 1999 **Penny Proud from The Proud Family - 2001 **Kim Possible from Kim Possible - 2007 **Donna Tubbs-Brown from The Cleveland Show/''Family Guy'' - 2009 **Marceline Abadeer from Adventure Time - 2010 **Unikitty from Unikitty! - 2017 **Princess Bean from Disenchantment - 2018 **Female Itchy & Scratchy from The Itchy & Scratchy Show - 2019 *In the episode "'Tis the 30th Season", the family's hotel manager said that Disney World was constructing a Family Guy theme park, in the height of Disney buying FOX. People in costume were dressed as Peter, Lois, Chris, and Stewie. The guy in the Stewie costume, mentioned that he was the "it" kid in the early 2000's. Category:TV Shows Category:The Simpsons